I think the county board should take How to Hire a County Engineer
101. Don’t tick
off the M.C.E.A. (Minnesota County Engineers Association). Thecounty board did.
If you don’t tick off the MCEA, and you get qualified candidates, have people on the hiring committee who know what the qualifications for the position are, and somewhat understands them. Thecounty board and personnel director do not!
Check on the professional background, history of the candidates by calling references given. Evidently this county board does not do a good job of this.
Make sure there is a professional engineer on the interview panel who can ask questions related to the engineering profession. The county board and personnel director didn’t have one there.
All of the above requirements would be taken care of professionally if an administrator were on board.
The county board and personnel director are not qualified to determine who best should be hired. They should only have to appoint the successful candidate at a future board meeting and instill the person into the highway department operation based on the administrator’s recommendation, with the help of a professional hiring committee.
We should be getting things done right after the November election!
Oh, by the way. You can’t buy off someone who doesn’t have the qualifications and make that person an engineer.
Chuck Schmit
Former Cook County Hwy. Engineer
Grand Marais
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